The present invention relates to a three-piece solid golf ball which has an intermediate layer and a cover layer that is softer than the intermediate layer; i.e., a three-piece solid golf ball which is hard on the interior and soft at the exterior.
A solid golf ball having a three-piece construction which is hard on the interior and soft at the exterior has been proposed to address the desires of professional golfers and skilled amateurs (Patent Reference 1: JP-A 7-24085). In addition, JP-A 10-151226 (Patent Reference 2) discloses a golf ball of this type which is endowed with improved spin, flight characteristics and durability. Yet, even such improved golf balls often fall short of what is desired.
Three-piece solid golf balls are also disclosed in, for example, JP-A 2002-315848 (Patent Reference 3), JP-A 2003-190330 (Patent Reference 4) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,889. However, still further improvement is desired.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an overall outstanding three-piece solid golf ball which is endowed in particular with excellent flight characteristics, excellent controllability and durability, and a soft feel on impact.